Budgets… not the most exciting topic but one of the most important aspects to any business.

Microsoft Dynamics GP has a user friendly (and excel friendly) budget component built within the financial module. Users can easily build an excel file based on previous year actual balances, existing budget files already in the system, as well as blank budgets. Using the Excel portion of the budget process means that companies can use formulas in excel to automatically update accounts based on other factors. Formulas can be linked to other account values, other worksheets, other files, etc. This makes budgeting for payroll expenses, taxes, depreciation, etc… very easy!

Another additional benefit to this process is that budget files can be broken down, perhaps by department, and distributed to different team members. Once everyone updates their files, these Excel files can be imported back into Dynamics GP – combined into one budget, or multiple budgets. At the end of the process, when the budget is final and approved by everyone involved in the process, we can now use this for reporting in Management Reporter and ISV products.

There’s a lot of work that goes into the budget process… and once the annual cycle is complete, it is probably time for a celebration. Don’t forget to avoid any accidents and get that budget locked down in Dynamics GP!

GP Life Hack #133

If you are like me and have struggled with fellow users making changes to the GP Budget file, then you completely understand how frustrating it can be when you run your financial reports, and maybe even publish them, just to get questions about the reliability of the budget data. You can prevent this by using this GP Life Hack!

Use the padlock on the budget maintenance window to ensure that others don’t accidentally delete or adjust budget figures.

Locking the budget has many benefits but let’s be honest, that peace of mind is important. Using this little known function can save you time and ensure your hard work doesn’t take a reputation hit.

To the right of the budget ID is a little padlock – when clicked, a password window will pop up. Be sure to document the password used. Another helpful aspect to this would be to save the excel file off securely.

Now that your budget is secure, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to include this as an inquiry window within GP? Look for my next GP Life Hack as we uncover a very cool feature of GP that allows you to compare the budget to a specific account, or group of accounts, from an inquiry window – without running a report!